Fishing for the kids

Honorary Chair for the event this year Shirley Crain (right) hands over the check to Mary Lewallen is the Associate Development Officer at the Arkansas Children’s Hospital Foundation for $75,719, but a late donation actually pushed the check to a value of $76,219

April 15, 2014

The annual FLW Will For Fish For Kids Children's Miracle Network (CMN) Charity Bass Tournament took place this past Monday on Beaver Lake which piggybacked the Walmart FLW Tour that wrapped up on Sunday. Conditions were less than favorable with wind, cold temperatures and even some snow, but true to form FLW Tour pros showed up to fish for a good cause.
The event is hosted by Walmart, the Children's Miracle Network and FLW and kicks off the Sunday night before the tournament. A silent auction and dinner comprise the evening to raise money for the Dental Clinic at the Arkansas Children's Hospital. This year over $18,000 was raised at the auction alone - getting the event off on the right foot.
Shirley Crain - who fishes the FLW Tour as a pro and is from Fort Smith, Ark. - was this year's Honorary Chair for the charity event.
"Being a part of this event has been so fulfilling," said Crain. "I have had a wonderful time. It is so great seeing people embrace helping children. With the economy the way it is and people watching their spending it is so uplifting to see them open their doors and pocketbooks to help children.
"FLW has been a major supporter of involving sportsman in charity for children. Every place we (the FLW Tour) go anglers take time to help out at schools, hospitals and charities. When it comes down to it, fisherpeople are family people so it makes sense that they are so eager to help with events like this."
After the successful evening on Sunday, nearly 60 anglers comprised of Tour pros, Tour co-anglers, sponsoring company representatives and a few other helpful souls pulled into the Prairie Creek Marina yesterday morning to start the tournament.
Just like the Tour event that took place the days prior, FLW staff had all the normal takeoff amenities like Folgers coffee, doughnuts and music playing to complete the vibe of a big-time tournament. The only exception was the complete spread of packed lunches and breakfast items for all teams competing.
With multiple layers of clothes and full stomachs, the teams launched at 7 a.m. to compete in an eight hour tournament. Despite the miserable conditions on the water the teams hung in there and arrived back the marina at 3 o'clock. While it is nothing new to the Tour pros, other competitors got to experience a true weigh-in by walking across the FLW weigh-in stage setup at the boat ramp with FLW's Jason Harper taking the emcee duties.
For simply competing, each team received a gift bag that included donations from the various sponsors. However, the top three teams would receive trophies along with a trophy for the biggest bass weighed in.
After the scale was closed, the team of Typhoon pro Tim Malone and Walmart's Bob Bolton took home to top hardware with their limit of bass weighing 19 pounds, 1 ounce. The duo would also score big bass honors for the day. Second place belonged to Jason Christie and Jim Enneking of PRADCO Outdoor Brands with 18 pounds even. And third place honors went to pro Kelly Power and Walmart's Jay Johnston for their 15-3 catch.
To close out the event, Shirley Crain presented a check to Mary Lewallen who is the Associate Development Officer at the Arkansas Children's Hospital Foundation for $75,719, but a late donation actually pushed the check to a value of $76,219. This topped last year's number of more than $47,000 raised at the event. In total over $572,000 has been raised for the Dental Clinic from this event since 2005.
For more information about the event, click here.

Walmart BFL Tournament Preview

The 2015 Walmart Bass Fishing League season will continue with a tournament on Saturday, July 25, when the Shenandoah division takes on the James River. Up to 400 boaters and co-anglers will be competing for top awards of up to $8,000 and $3,000 respectively in the one-day event. READ MORE »

July 22, 2015

How to Fish the Prop Bee

The Brian’s Bees Prop Bee isn’t the most popular topwater bait on the Walmart FLW Tour. Rather, it’s more limited in scope. It’s a niche bait. When a tournament falls into the window where the Prop Bee shines, however, it’s one of those “you-gotta-have-it” baits that is practically a shoo-in to produce a few top-10 finishes. READ MORE »

July 16, 2015

FLW Tournaments Headed to China

FLW announced an exclusive licensing agreement with Sunny Lake (Beijing) Sport Development, LLC, from China to begin sanctioning FLW bass fishing tournaments in the Eastern Asian nation at a contract signing today at the 2015 ICAST show in Orlando. The agreement was signed by FLW President of Operations Kathy Fennel and Gang Li, vice president of the Florida Culture Exchange Association (FCEA), representing Sunny Lake Sport Development. READ MORE »

July 10, 2015

Walmart BFL Tournament Preview

The 2015 Walmart Bass Fishing League season will continue with two tournaments on Saturday, July 11. The Great Lakes division takes on the Wolf River Chain and the Michigan division stops at the Detroit River for an event presented by Navionics. Up to 400 boaters and co-anglers will be competing for top awards of up to $8,000 and $3,000 respectively in the one-day events. READ MORE »

July 10, 2015

5 Frog Tactics that Work Now

Beyond the simple joy of slamming hooks into the mouth of a shallow, surface-feeding bass, frogs also offer technical advantages that allow anglers to capitalize on some of the best big-bass action of the summer. READ MORE »

June 30, 2015

Martin Earns First AOY Title

Prior to the 2015 Walmart FLW Tour season, Scott Martin had banked a total of three top-10 Angler of the Year finishes in his 15-year career as a pro. It was impressive, but not indicative of his greatness. The truth of the matter is that Scott Martin was a winner, always taking risks in search of equal reward. That risky fishing has led Martin to more than $2 million in earnings, a Forrest Wood Cup win and four Tour-level wins. But the gambles burned him often enough that he never earned AOY. READ MORE »

June 30, 2015

Birge Dominates ROY Race

Zack Birge isn’t wasting any time filling out his tournament-fishing resume. The Oklahoman won the 2014 Rayovac FLW Series Championship on Wheeler Lake last fall then joined up on the Walmart FLW Tour for 2015 and went on a season-long tear that earned him the Rookie of the Year award.
Birge, alongside his wife, Kristina, was presented with his ROY trophy this afternoon on the weigh-in stage at the Potomac River tournament, where he finished in 77th place. He finished 29th overall in the AOY standings to best a group of 18 rookies. READ MORE »

June 27, 2015

FLW Signs Contract for South Korean Tournaments

At the day-two weigh-in of the Walmart FLW Tour event presented by Ranger Boats on the Potomac River, FLW signed a contract that inked an exclusive licensing agreement with MirooNamoo Media Group from South Korea to begin sanctioning FLW bass fishing tournaments in the Eastern-Asian country.
South Korea will run a series of FLW tournaments that advance anglers, who are citizens of the host country, to a new International Division at the Rayovac FLW Series Championship beginning in 2016. Two anglers will compete as pros with FLW providing Ranger boats, and two will compete as co-anglers. The top pro award at the Rayovac FLW Series Championship is $95,000, including a Ranger Z518C if the pro is Ranger Cup qualified, and the top co-angler award is a Ranger Z117. READ MORE »

June 26, 2015

Hunter Captures Co-angler of the Year Title

Things couldn’t have worked out any better for first-year Walmart FLW Tour co-angler John Hunter, who wrapped up a phenomenal season from the back of the boat to win Co-angler of the Year and the Ranger Z518C with 200-hp outboard that goes with it. READ MORE »

June 26, 2015

AOY Update: Martin Controls His Destiny

Scott Martin is on the verge of winning the only major FLW title that has escaped him to this point: Walmart FLW Tour Angler of the Year. As John Cox and Bryan Thrift stumbled in the Walmart FLW Tour season finale on the Potomac River, Martin steamed ahead and made the top-20 cut in 11th place with 26 pounds, 9 ounces.
The way the math checks out, if Martin finishes 19th place or better, he’ll win AOY. If he finishes 20th, he’ll be tied with Cox. The tiebreaker awards AOY to the angler with the most total weight for the season. If he finishes 20th, Martin can still win by bringing at least 11-13 to the scale on day three. Anything less and Cox survives to win. READ MORE »

June 25, 2015

On the Bubble for the Cup

By rule, the top 35 anglers in the Walmart FLW Tour Angler of the Year standings make the 2015 Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Ouachita Aug. 20-23. However, when a Tour pro pre-qualifies through another of FLW’s tournament circuits and also finishes in the top 35, an additional Cup invitation is extended to the angler in 36th place, and on down the list in the event of additional double qualifications. READ MORE »

June 24, 2015

A Bass Fisherman in Need

Friends of FLW College Fishing angler David Cosner have established a fund to help the Texas fisherman pay medical bills associated with his long battle with Wegener’s Granulomatosis, a debilitating disease that gradually destroys the organs. Cosner, who founded the Texas State University Bass Cats and was named to the 2010 FLW College Fishing All-America team, was diagnosed with the rare disease in 2009 when he was 17 and since has had to undergo 215 surgeries. READ MORE »

June 22, 2015

COY and ROY on the Line

FLW is hauling a lot of hardware to Maryland this week for the final stop of the 2015 Walmart FLW Tour event presented by Ranger Boats on the Potomac River. The world’s largest tournament fishing organization is also going to be writing some fat checks. READ MORE »

June 19, 2015

Father of David Dudley Passes

James Dudley, the father of longtime Walmart FLW Tour pro David Dudley, passed away June 17 after a lengthy illness. He was a lifetime resident of Lynchburg, Va., and a member of Thomas Road Baptist Church. Like his son, James Dudley was also a tournament fisherman and competed in 73 FLW events. He finished in the top 10 in eight of them. READ MORE »

June 12, 2015

Is this the New Bass Fishing Capital of the South?

Dayton, Tenn., is situated on Richland Creek, a tributary that flows into the western side of Lake Chickamauga, one of the hottest bass fisheries in the country. Local officials with a flair for marketing – and good business sense – believe that Chickamauga can be the sellable “brand” that attracts bass fishermen to come and spend their time and their money in Dayton. They believe that old-fashioned Southern hospitality and small-town charm, plus trophy bass, are just the recipe for turning Dayton into “The New Bass Fishing Capital of the South.” READ MORE »

June 10, 2015

Bass & BBQ is Back

Bass fishing and barbecue are favorite Southern pastimes, made even better when you spice them up with a little competition. READ MORE »

June 4, 2015

BFL Payouts

2015 FLW TV Schedule

Miss Nina Wins More Accolades

When the letter that notified Nina Wood that she was being inducted into the Legends of the Outdoors Hall of Fame came awhile back, she was a bit surprised. None of the rest of us was. In a sense, it was a restatement of the obvious, another in a long line of awards and recognition earned by the co-founder of Ranger Boats. READ MORE »